I Believe!

As of today I have resigned myself to the fact that I will not have Christmas cards sent to anyone in time for Christmas this year. I knew exactly what I wanted to say and we even got a usable family picture at the beach - which was not as easy as it sounds! It might end up becoming a Happy New Year, Happy Valentine's, or even Happy Easter greeting in 2011. (I actually did send a Happy Easter greeting in lieu of Christmas cards a few years back.) And that's okay. I'll spare the reasons why and let you fill in the blanks.

But I would like to share my Christmas card thought while still in the season...

So of course, first, Merry Christmas to you!



(My little Christmas decor specialist this year - gotta love the "bulb laden" branches on the bottom half of the tree! It makes me smile every time I see it.)



Earlier this month we spent a quiet evening together learning songs the children at church were to sing at the Christmas program. It was the first time I felt "the true Spirit of Christmas" this holiday season and it was a beautiful moment, something I really needed.

We asked our boys what Christmas means to them, and our five year-old replied, "Hot cocoa and Jesus." Love it!

Our eight year-old replied thoughtfully, "It means Jesus' birth to me - it means just about everything."

It was one of those moments when Heaven felt pretty close, and I put my arms around him and said "Thank you."

I thought a lot about the question that night, "What does Christmas mean to you?" and how I would answer it. The words from Luke 2:6-7 came to mind, and I thought about how Mary and Joseph sacrificed so much to fulfill prophecy given about their Son, even (maybe especially) in the circumstances of His birth. I can only try to imagine how His mission and Mary's role in preparing Him through His early years affected her deeply as a mother. I pictured this young, Holy little family and a felt a great love for them and gratitude for their faithfulness in everything they did. Obedience probably didn't feel so singularly extraordinary at the time. But because they were, the salvation of all mankind became possible.

What does Christmas mean to me? "And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger...For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosover believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" (Luke 2:7; John 3:16). He came for us. This influences every part of my life and is the reason my heart is full. Yes, I believe.